won eight games in a row.
One of those wins was against Australia in a low-scoring pool stage thriller in Auckland on February 28 when a Kane Williamson six off Pat Cummins helped them surpass a modest target of 152 with one wicket standing.
It was at the same Eden Park in Auckland that the Black Caps downed South Africa in a nerve-tingling semi-final on Tuesday with a penultimate-ball six by Grant Elliott.
New Zealand’s first semi-final win in seven attempts left an enthralled rugby-mad nation backing their cricketers to take home a trophy that has so far eluded them in the World Cup’s 40-year history.
Australia, the top-ranked side in ODI cricket, are bidding for a fifth World Cup title and will be favourites on home turf at the MCG, where New Zealand last played an ODI in 2009.
Clarke said the Black Caps may struggle to adjust to conditions at the 90,000 capacity ground after playing all their eight previous matches this tournament on their own grounds across the Tasman Sea.
“Conditions are a lot different to what New Zealand have been playing in New Zealand,” Clarke said after his team’s emphatic 95-run semi-final victory over defending champions India on Thursday.
However, New Zealand have defeated Australia in three of their last five ODIs at the MCG and their most recent appearance saw semi-final star Elliott’s unbeaten 61 fashion a six-wicket win with seven balls to spare after Australia had been restricted to 225 for five from 50 overs.
Opener Martin Guptill, who hit a World Cup record score of 237 not out against the West Indies, is just 10 runs away from surpassing Sri Lanka star Kumar Sangakkara’s tally of 541 to become the tournament’s leading run-getter.
Left-armer Trent Boult is the leading bowler in this edition with 21 wickets, one more than Aussie paceman Mitchell Starc, while seamer Tim Southee and veteran spinner Daniel Vettori have 15 wickets each. The 36-year-old Vettori is likely to end his international career after Sunday’s final.